Pat Binns, Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, is a very good friend of Monaghan and
has shown his interest in the County through his many visits both as Premier and
as Ambassador. He is always a very welcome guest and his warmth and ease make him
enjoyable company. This visit, on Monday, Oct 5th, lasted for the day beginning with
a welcome from Mayor of Monaghan, Sean Conlon, in the Four Seasons Hotel. He then
went to Monaghan Garda Station and was greeted by Supt Mick Clancy and Insp. Pat
McMorrow.

His next stop was in Beech Hill College, where he addressed a group of pupils and
answered many interesting questions. His words of wisdom for the young minds were
very encouraging and urged them to follow their dreams to reality, as he pointed
to the many Irish men who achieved greatness and indeed had a major input to the
development of Canada.

The Ambassador was then back in the Four Seasons Hotel for lunch and an address to
the members of Monaghan Rotary. This was followed by a meeting with Monaghan County
Council and Executive.

His final destination for a meeting with residence and dinner was the Tyrone Guthrie
Centre at Annaghmakerrig.

It was a wide ranging visit and a hectic one but then his host, Willie McKenna, will
always pack a great deal into a few hours. Also in the entourage was Tony Murphy,
retired County secretary and a man who has had a major role in the development of
relation between Monaghan and three areas of Canada. The Ambassador was accompanied
by Suzanne Cormie, Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy. This was her
first visit to Monaghan and indeed her first sortie outside Dublin since she arrived
two weeks ago. She was very impressed by Monaghan and has promised that she will
return for a longer visit and she agreed to our invite to visit Emyvale. We look
forward to her visit and we also hope that Pat Binns will retrace his steps around
Emyvale too. Well done to Willie for putting it all together.